The Unexpected Consequences of Hide and Seek
by DarkestPoetry
Summary: Post-AC. Vincent is wounded after the battle against Bahamut SIN and has trouble controlling Chaos. Marlene walks in on him while playing and offers a helping hand. Fluff ahead! Starring Cloud and Denzel, too!


Just a little scene I thought up. Was so cute I had to write it down and share it. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy and I'm not making money off this. This story is purely for entertainment/fangirl purposes only.

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_**The Unexpected Consequences of Hide and Seek**_

He had been sleeping for the better part of the last three days – that man, the one with the eyes that spoke a thousand words and whom Tifa had told Denzel was their friend. He had been wounded in the battle against Bahamut SIN and Cloud had brought him back to the 7th Heaven to recover. Now, he lay beneath the yellow-and-green checkerboard quilt in the guest room at the end of the hall with his side bandaged up, a light sheen of sweat glistening on his bare chest as his eyelids fluttered open for the first time that day.

He immediately slammed them shut again, however, against the bright glare of the afternoon sun that poured mercilessly through the window and he suddenly realized why he had awoken so hot and sticky. It burned so brightly even through the delicate flesh of his eyelids that he brought his arm up swiftly to shield his face, his injury screaming in agony at the quick movement. A violent wave of nausea overcame him and for a moment he was sure he was going to be sick, Chaos roaring viciously in his head.

He lay still with his face hidden in the crook of his elbow, willing the room to stop spinning. He breathed deeply, his chest rising and falling and rising again until the unsettled feeling in his stomach ebbed away. Then, using his left arm – no one had bothered to remove his gauntlet – he carefully pushed himself up, ignoring the hideous growls of the monsters within him.

They had been very active during the long hours he lay in the room on the second floor of the 7th Heaven, drifting uneasily between consciousness and sleep, the ever-present pain gnawing at him as he endured the abusive language the demons hurled at him. Chaos was in a particularly nasty mood and the man was having trouble controlling him in his weakened state.

The sun was intolerably warm. He shifted gingerly, every movement causing raw pain in his side. For a moment he considered waiting for one of his comrades to check on him and asking them to close the curtains, but this idea quickly vanished as he began to pant. His hair and the sheets were damp with his sweat, the veins in his right arm bulging beneath the skin. His wound throbbed uncomfortably and Chaos roared again, louder this time, enraged by the intensity of the heat.

Somehow he managed to move to the edge of the bed and, clutching his side, shakily got to his feet. Holding the bedframe for support, he took a few unsteady steps toward the window. He thought of Tifa's reaction if she were to catch him doing this – she would probably chew him out until Cloud came to his rescue and led her away, telling her it wasn't exactly fair to yell at a man who could barely walk unassisted. Amused by this, his lips curved into a small, strained sort of smile.

He couldn't stop the sound that escaped him when a sharp pain tore through his chest, halting his progress. His hand moved from his bandaged wound to above his heart, his head suddenly pounding as the blood rushed in his ears. His body pulsed violently, causing him to double over, his breaths coming in sharp, audible gasps. It felt as if something inside were determined to rip him open and escape. And then Chaos roared so loud that it drowned out everything else in his mind, and with a feeling of sheer terror, he realized what was happening.

Marlene giggled softly as she climbed the stairs as silently as possible, looking for a good place to hide. Denzel was sitting downstairs at a table in the bar with his hands over his eyes, counting to fifty. Marlene knew they had to be quiet because Cloud's friend, the nice man who had let her hide under his cloak once, was resting in the guest room. Cloud had already scolded her and Denzel yesterday for running around upstairs.

Upon reaching the landing, she glanced down the hall to where she and Denzel were forbidden to play. She remembered how Cloud had half-carried his friend into the bar after they had fought that big monster, a bloody towel held against his side. Tifa had quickly taken her and Denzel to her room, where she told them to stay until she came back. That was three days ago. She hoped the man would be okay.

She was about to go hide under Tifa's bed when she heard a cry from the guest room. She froze, her eyes locked on the door at the end of the hall. She waited for a moment, wondering if the man needed help, but it was silent again and she continued the other way toward Tifa's room.

There it was again! This time, she turned and took a few steps toward the room she wasn't supposed to enter, her thin eyebrows coming together in concern. Something was wrong, she thought. The man sounded like he was in pain. Forgetting that Cloud and Tifa were downstairs, she bravely approached the room. She could hear the man groaning softly as she reached the end of the hall and then a strange growl made her jump. The door was ajar and she hid behind it, peeking carefully around the frame. What she saw made her eyes go wide.

Cloud's friend was nowhere in sight. Instead, a tall _something_ with huge wings was rampaging around within! It seized the lamp on the bedside table and hurled it at the wall where it shattered on impact, the pieces raining to the floor in a shower of colorful ceramic. Marlene could only watch in horror. But then the creature halted. Its body pulsed twice, and then in a swirl of red light that was almost too bright to look at, the body changed, the wings faded into thin air, and Cloud's friend was standing where the creature had been a moment before.

Marlene continued to watch from her hiding place, her presence unknown to him. He was looking at his hands and Marlene could hear him breathing heavily. She felt a wave of sympathy for the man. He looked quite distraught. Then his body pulsed again and he fell to the ground, clutching at his chest.

Vincent was on his knees. Chaos was fighting him, struggling for dominance. The beast was roaring in his head, his breathing harsh and ragged with the exertion of controlling the monster. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to keep the demon inside. And then, from far away it seemed, he heard another voice, one that was quite different from Chaos's ferocious snarls.

"Are you okay, Mister Vincent?"

Something cool and soft touched his cheek. His eyes flew open and he found himself looking into the worried face of the little girl he recognized as Barret's daughter.

Marlene was watching him closely. She was absolutely terrified, but some undeniable compassion had stirred her to help the poor man despite her fear. He was at her eye level in his crouched position, his crimson eyes flickering gold every now and then as he gasped for breath. She cupped his cheek, running her thumb soothingly over his skin.

Vincent was, for lack of a stronger term, shocked that the girl had approached him in this state. But he realized that Chaos was becoming quieter in his mind as she caressed his face with her small hand, the simple human interaction somehow enabling him to hold the beast at bay.

_Stay down_, _Chaos,_ he thought savagely as the demon growled at him.

He would never be able to forgive himself if he lost control again and hurt the little girl. Barret would surely kill him, but that was nothing compared to the crushing guilt and shame that would likely plague him for the rest of his long, miserable existence.

"What happened, Mister Vincent?" Marlene tried again. "Did that thing hurt you?"

He turned his eyes away. So she had seen Chaos. How could she stand to be near him, to _touch_ him in such a way? Wasn't she afraid of him? Before he could think of anything to say to her, he heard someone approaching quickly in the hall outside.

"What happened, Marlene?" Denzel asked in a rush when he appeared in the doorway. "I heard a big crash –"

"Denzel, go get Cloud!" Then she addressed the man in front of her again, stating the obvious, her voice quiet. "It's okay, Mister Vincent. Denzel went to get Cloud so he can help you."

Vincent let his eyes slip closed as he listened to Denzel thundering down the stairs, relieved that Marlene had the sense to get an adult involved. He was amazed at how maturely she was handling the situation, and he made a mental note to mention this to Barret when he got the chance. He was grateful of her kindness even though he wanted to send her away - she didn't understand how truly dangerous he was - but he didn't, because her presence comforted him and he felt he had more control of Chaos with her standing there in front of him, perhaps due to the simple fact that he knew what would happen to her if he lost control of the demon again.

"I want to help you, too. Please tell me what to do…"

She was speaking to him again, brushing his hair gently out of his face. The little girl had already helped him more than she could know. He wanted to get up, but he knew it would be impossible to attempt this under his own power and Marlene was much too small to help him in that respect. Then he remembered how he had ended up in this position in the first place.

"The…drapes…" he managed.

Marlene peered curiously at him, then up at the window. Letting her hand slip from his jaw, she walked around the man kneeling in the middle of the room. She reached above her head and, standing on her tiptoes, managed to pull the curtains closed. The heat lessened immediately and Vincent sighed with relief.

He opened his eyes again when she returned. She sank down on the floor next to him and shyly took his right hand.

"I'll wait with you 'til Cloud comes," she said quietly.

Vincent watched her while she entertained herself. She was playing with his hand, flexing his fingers and comparing its size to her own, giggling softly. She was making him nervous – he had never been good with children. The man felt more than a little compelled to jerk his hand out of her reach. He caught her looking at his gauntlet from beneath her eyelashes while she fiddled with his hand, humming a tuneless song.

Marlene was fascinated by the man. He was unlike any of her father's friends who occasionally stopped by the 7th Heaven. Something about him reminded her of Cloud, and yet he was different – an enigma that she couldn't quite figure out. And then there was that thing he had turned into. It had been so violent. She thought maybe he was a monster and wanted to ask him, but she felt that would be incredibly rude. Besides, if he was a monster, why did he help Cloud and his friends?

She tore her eyes away from his golden arm to stare at the rest of him. He was very skinny. Then she noticed something that made her gasp.

"You're bleeding!"

The bandages that bound his wound were stained red. Marlene let her little fingers ghost over his side and he flinched at her touch.

"Sorry…"

He wanted to tell her not to worry, that she hadn't hurt him, but he was so tired. Chaos was still unstable within him.

There were footsteps on the stairs again, this time the heavy sound of Cloud's boots accompanying that of Denzel's smaller feet. Vincent saw the concerned look in his comrade's eyes when he entered the room, taking in the scene before him. Then the younger man addressed the boy beside him.

"Denzel, take Marlene downstairs."

His voice was soft and calm as always, but Vincent could pick up a note of barely disguised apprehension. Marlene squeezed Vincent's hand gently before she got up and followed Denzel outside. Cloud pushed the door closed behind them. Then he crossed wordlessly to the man he had come to consider his friend.

Vincent gasped when the younger man took him under the arm and pulled him up, supporting him against his side.

"Your wound reopened," came the quiet statement.

Cloud guided his friend back onto the bed, taking care not to cause him more pain than could be prevented. Then he set to work unwrapping the bandage, his touch gentle and attentive. Vincent knew what was coming even before the younger man picked up the clean, folded towel from the chair next to the bed, but he still couldn't stifle the incoherent noise that escaped his throat or the imperceptible jerk of his body when pressure was applied to the wound. Cloud held him still, pressing the cloth firmly to his side to stop the bleeding.

"What happened here?" Cloud spoke the inevitable question at length.

"Chaos had a tantrum," the ex-Turk replied wryly, his breathing quickened slightly in response to the pain. "He's been more difficult to control lately. I guess he's using my injury as an opportunity to cause trouble."

He half-expected Cloud to question him further, about how he could let Chaos take control, or about why Marlene had been there, but he didn't. A comfortable silence fell around them as he checked the wound.

"Sorry about the lamp," Vincent added after a few minutes. "I'll buy you a new one."

"Don't worry about it."

Cloud removed the cloth and applied a fresh bandage around his friend's waist. Then he fluffed the pillow and pressed his hand gently against the gunman's shoulder, mutely telling him to lay down. Vincent obliged, relaxing into the mattress, the sweat on the sheets having long-since dried. The room was pleasantly cool now that the curtains were blocking the sun and Chaos had gone quiet for the time being. Cloud covered him lightly with the quilt and went to the door without another word. Before he left, however, he turned in the semidarkness.

"Try to sleep. I'll be back to check on you in a while."


End file.
